lucky03

We're going there in a couple of weeks. I'm looking for hotels and they seem expensive. Went to Italy two years ago and average was $150 for very nice accommodations. Not so in Amsterdam so far. What is the reason? Help...any suggestions?

LarryJ

A few months ago I stayed at the Amstelbotel. It is a permanently docked boat moored next to the Central train station. Great location, you can walk to everything, great view of the harbor and central city. I paid $86 for a single. Rooms are surprisingly large for a boat and very clean with nice bath. CNN tv also. Two things: ask for a room facing the harbor and ask for a room above the water level as locals in small boats like to come alongside and look in your windows. I would stay there again. Website below.<BR><BR>http://www.amstelbotel.com/amstelbotel/<BR>Larry J

Mary_Fran

Did you try www.bookings.nl? I just checked and it looked like there are some decent internet rates for three-star places. Amsterdam is ridiculously expensive. Rick Steves recommends staying in Haarlem instead.

suze

I stayed near Leidseplein district last summer for $57 euro/night breakfast included with shower &amp; sink in the room but toilet down the hall.

Alan

Here is a website for a cheap Amsterdam hotel: haven't stayed there myself, so can't talk from experience:<BR>http://travel.to/mamadoma

Grasshopper

Check out hotel-booker.com for some decent discounted rates.<BR><BR>I like Hotel Fita near the Van Gogh museum. www.fita.nl

Flyboy

Here's a familiar booking engine that you might find something with:<BR><BR>http://www.180096hotel.com/index.html<BR><BR>Note that you can get a $25 rebate with Mastercard. I would recommend that you choose from among &quot;city center&quot; hotels. That's the historic, classic Amsterdam that you've come to see. It's true that hotels CAN be expensive in Amsterdam, but we've seemed to get lucky the last few years with some higher end properties including Sofitel and Crowne Plaza (check the Six Continents hotels website for rates on the latter -- there are two Crowne Plaza hotels in Amsterdam.)<BR><BR>Rick Steves can stay in Haarlem all he wants. It's a lovely place, but it isn't Amsterdam.

LarryJ

Flyboy<BR><BR>I agree. I will never understand why anyone would spend all the time and money to go to Paris, Venice, Amsterdam or wherever only to get a hotel in the suburbs. The few bucks you save on the hotel you spend on transportation back and forth and spend more time in the suburb than the city you came to experience. To me part of that experience is midnight or dawn walks along the Seine in Paris or the Grand Canal of Venice etc. <BR><BR>Regards<BR>Larry J

Scooter

Yes, I agree with LarryJ. The first time to Paris, we stayed about a 20 minute subway ride to the 'heart of the city'. And while that was okay, and if you can't afford anything else, then do that! But the second time, we spend about $20 more a night, stayed in the specific area that we wanted to be in, and the whole experience was more enjoyable. Sooooo....just my comments.

ira

Gee, I liked Haarlem. Stayed in a lovely B&amp;B. Ride into town was pleasant.

Danna

Expensive or not, if you are going there in a couple of weeks you better make reservations now. This is moving into tulip time. There is no &quot;off season&quot; in Amsterdam and rooms are limited. Book now is my suggestion. We usually book months in advance. Have a grand time!

TracyB

Hi, my husband and I go to Amsterdam quite often, and it seems that everytime we go there the hotels get more expensive...Our favorites which are 4 stars are no longer affordable...So, on our next trip which will be in September, we are staying at the Hoksbergen Hotel...It is on the Singel Canal, a few doors down from The Estheria Hotel and the Tulip Inn, right close to the flower market, Kalverstraat, Dam Square..On that note, it is 90 Euro per night, with a bathroom and breakfast and taxes included...With our frequent visits to Amsterdam, this is our favorite location. We are willing to give this 1* hotel a try...I have only read good things about it...That is one idea, the other being a B &amp; B called Sunhead of 1617..It is on the Herengracht Canal<BR>http://www.sunhead.com/...Check out their website..We stayed there last year and had a front canal room with a great view, breakfast was brought fresh to the room everyday..Fresh fruit, yogurt, breads, lunchmeats, etc...The location is great, it is totally private and the owner's are very friendly..I highly recommend it, but it is a little more than what we want to spend on this next trip as we are also going to Greece...Hope this helps..

suze

www.amsterdamhotspots.nl<BR>

Gardyloo

People are getting the 4-star Marriott or SAS Radisson for US$75 to $85 on Priceline. See www.biddingfortravel.com for recent results.

Travelnut

I don't know about that Amstelbotel...have seen very mixed opinions about it, but it seems like an interesting idea...Personally, I wouldn't like staying that 'close in'; very much enjoy the Leidseplein/Vondelpark/Museum area myself...<BR><BR>I went to www.bookings.nl and used randomly-chosen dates of April 13 - 19.<BR>This hotel was in the listings, and is probably a good choice for the price: <BR>Best Western AMS Hotel Lairesse <BR>http://www.bookings.nl/nl/cgi-bin/showsubpage.pl?hotel=10094&amp;subpage=10094_page1 .html&amp;lang=uk&amp;id=100001&amp;via=search&amp ;style=B<BR>This hotel is in a fairly good location, just past the major museum area. There are convenient trams to take you closer into city 'center'. The hotel is rate 4-star, and should be very decent. On the www.bookings.nl site, it indicates a rate of 159E for a deluxe dbl/twin, but could be 190E depending on weekend vs weekday. <BR><BR>I have stayed at at 3-star BW AMS Terdam, and that is an excellent location, just off Leidseplein, and the hotel was very nice.<BR>http://www.bookings.nl/nl/cgi-bin/showsubpage.pl?hotel=10097&amp;subpage=10097_page1 .html&amp;lang=uk&amp;id=100001&amp;via=search&amp ;style=B<BR>It may come up in the listings, for different dates than I used, or you could try it at the AMS website, www.ams.nl (select the English option). Of course, you can also try using the Best Western site to book this or the Lairesse.<BR><BR>I also stayed at 2-star AMS Holland - decor quite old, mold in the bathroom. Those were the only negatives, as the location, breakfast, beds were all very good. But still, I will be checking the bathrooms better before unloading everything from now on...<BR><BR>Another often-recommended hotel is the Hotel Piet Hein - you will need to email a request for a reservation, and they will email back (you can do this using the www.bookings.nl site as well). It is a nice-looking hotel that I am going to check out for future reference, located near Vondelpark.<BR>http://www.bookings.nl/nl/cgi-bin/showsubpage.pl?hotel=10097&amp;subpage=10097_page1 .html&amp;lang=uk&amp;id=100001&amp;via=search&amp ;style=B<BR><BR>Good luck - hope you book something soon...<BR>

Snoopy

Try the Caransa. It's in a good location, it's a 4-star hotel, and they generally have some deep discounts on the web.

MFNYC

I just looked on expedia and many 4 and even 5 star properties have reduced rate at $150 or less.

Betsy

If you decide to use Priceline, you'll get one of the hotels below. Spend some time at www.biddingfortravel.com before you bid. Go to the BFT site and scroll down to Netherlands/Belgium hotels to find recent successful bids. Moderators at the site will help you construct a bid, but you need to do your homework first.<BR><BR>5 Star <BR>Grand Sofitel Demeure <BR>Sheraton Hotel Pulitzer <BR><BR>4 Star <BR>Marriott Hotel <BR>Renaissance <BR>Radisson SAS <BR>Swissotel City Centre<BR><BR>3 Star <BR>AMS City Centre <BR><BR>Museum Quarter <BR>4 Star <BR>Bilderberg Garden Hotel<BR><BR>Schiphol Airport <BR>4 Star <BR>Crowne Plaza<BR><BR>South <BR>3 Star <BR>AMS Hofpark